English idioms & phrases about the body

In this lesson, you will learn 7 commonly used English idioms and phrases related to the body. For each idiom I give you a full definition, an explanation of the meaning and some examples. All of these idiomatic expressions are common in spoken English. This tutorial will be particulary useful to ESL students looking to expand their vocabaulary.

to get cold feet

This means to suddenly become too frightened or nervous to do something important. When we get cold feet, we are so nervous that we change our minds. We decide not to do what we are supposed to do.

Example: Jane wanted to resign from her job but she got cold feet and decided to stay.

to cost an arm and a leg

If something costs an arm and a leg, it is very expensive.

Example: David Beckham’s new car cost an arm and a leg! (This is in fact the past simple tense – The past form of “cost” is also “cost”)

to pull someone’s leg

= to try to make someone believe something that is not true (as a joke). If we are joking with someone and we tell them a lie to trick them, then we are pulling their leg. This is a British English idiom and it is quite informal but very common too.